A self-priming, high performance, check valve diaphragm micropump made from SOI wafers

In this paper, we describe a self-priming high performance piezoelectrically actuated check valve diaphragm micropump. The micropump was fabricated from three wafers: two silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers and one silicon wafer. A process named 'SOI/SOI wafer bonding and etching back followed by a second wafer bonding' was developed in order to make the core components of this device which included an inlet check valve, an outlet check valve, a diaphragm and a chamber. The movable structures of this device, i.e. the check valves and the diaphragm, were fabricated from the device layers of the two bonded SOI wafers. Taking advantages of SOI wafer technology and etch-stop layers, the vertical parameters of the movable structures were precisely controlled in fabrication. The micropump was self-priming without any pre-filling process. The pumping rate of the micropump was linearly adjustable from 0 to 650l mum min-1 by adjusting frequency. The maximum pumping rate was 860 mul min-1 and the maximum pumping pressure was approximately 10.5 psi. The power consumption of the device was less than 1.2 mW.